Jordan Chiles Loses Bronze Medal on Floor Exercise After Controversy

PARIS (AP) — In a surprising turn of events, Romania's Ana Barbosu has been reinstated as the Olympic bronze medalist in the women's gymnastics floor exercise, replacing American gymnast Jordan Chiles. This decision followed a ruling by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and was confirmed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) less than 24 hours after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) voided an appeal that initially elevated Chiles to the podium.

How Did Jordan Chiles Initially Win the Bronze?

Jordan Chiles, a 23-year-old American gymnast, had qualified third in the women's floor exercise final. Competing last among the eight finalists, Chiles was awarded a score of 13.666, placing her fifth behind Romania's Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, who both scored 13.700.

Chiles' coach, Cecile Landi, who also coached Team USA in Paris, immediately appealed to the judges to have an element of Chiles' routine restored. The appeal was accepted, and Chiles' score was increased by 0.1 points, raising her to third place and earning her a third Olympic medal, adding to the team silver from Tokyo 2021 and the team gold from Paris.

Romania's Appeal and the CAS Ruling

However, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation quickly filed a complaint, questioning the procedure surrounding Landi's appeal. FIG guidelines stipulate that coaches must submit any score appeals within one minute of the score being posted. CAS reviewed the situation and found that Landi’s appeal was made in 1 minute, 4 seconds, just past the deadline. As a result, CAS ruled to revert Chiles' score back to 13.666, reinstating Barbosu as the rightful bronze medalist.

Ana Barbosu Reclaims the Bronze

Following the CAS decision, the FIG reassigned the medals, placing Barbosu in third, Maneca-Voinea in fourth, and Chiles in fifth. The IOC confirmed that Barbosu would receive the bronze medal, and arrangements were made to retrieve the bronze awarded to Chiles.

The Response from Gymnasts

The scoring controversy has left a mark on all three gymnasts involved. While Ana Barbosu remained composed, Sabrina Maneca-Voinea took to social media, arguing that a penalty for stepping out of bounds during her routine was wrongly applied. Despite video evidence suggesting otherwise, CAS denied her appeal due to a failure to appeal in real-time.

Jordan Chiles, meanwhile, faced a wave of criticism on social media, with some calling for her to return the medal. Chiles, who left Paris earlier this week, has remained mostly silent, except for a brief post on X (formerly Twitter) expressing frustration with the situation. Support from fellow gymnasts, including Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee, has helped to bolster Chiles during this difficult time.

This controversy has highlighted the need for clearer guidelines and timely decision-making in gymnastics judging. As Barbosu pointed out after her return to Romania, "We as athletes don’t deserve something like that; we only want to perform our best and be judged fairly."